The 10 Most Anticipated Tabletop RPGs of 2021

After thousands of votes, we now have our annual list of most anticipated tabletop RPGs for the coming year. As I do every year, I recently took nominations for the most anticipated tabletop RPGs for the coming year, and then opened the floor to voting. Here are this year's winners - the most anticipated tabletop RPGs of 2021!

Previous winners include 13th Age (2013), Star Wars Force & Destiny (2015), Rifts for Savage Worlds (2016), Trudvang Chronicles (2017), Vampire: the Masquerade 5th Edition (2018), Savage Worlds Adventure Edition (2019), and Dune: Adventures in the Imperium (2020). Who will join their ranks this year? Read on to find out!

10. SLA Industries, 2nd Edition (Nightfall Games)
SLA Industries is a role-playing game of urban horror, set in The World of Progress; a vast world of ruin and decay. At the very heart of this world lies Mort City, a false beacon of hope upon an otherwise dystopian planet. Under the skin of this sprawling city are the Operatives of SLA Industries. These agents, investigators and trained soldiers do the company’s dirty work, cleaning the streets of serial killers, cultists and Carrien vermin, whilst being sure to make the right impression for the cameras. The original was published over 25 years ago.

9. Werewolf: The Apocalypse 5th Edition (Renegade Studios/Paradox)
Werewolf: The Apocalypse takes place in a fictional version of our Earth: the World of Darkness. In the World of Darkness, werewolves, vampires, magicians, and monsters are all living among us. An entire supernatural world hidden in plain sight. You are one of these monsters, pretending to be human but fighting for survival and supremacy among mysteries and conspiracies that threaten the existence of humanity.

8. Brancalonia - The Spaghetti Fantasy RPG (Acheron Books)
An all-Italian medieval, roguish and picaresque setting for the 5th Edition of the most famous role-playing game of all time. This game will be releases in Italian and English. “Spaghetti Fantasy” is a new fantasy genre: imagine a Spaghetti Western – with swords instead of guns – based on Italian folklore, history and pop culture.

7. Pathfinder for Savage Worlds (Pinnacle Entertainment Group)
A bombshell announcement in November 2020, the Pathfinder for Savage Worlds core rulebook will include an adaptation of the Savage Worlds game mechanics for players to make and evolve characters, and for game masters to create games of their own design, for play in Pathfinder’s world of Golarion. The Pathfinder for Savage Worlds boxed set—as typical for Pinnacle Entertainment Group—will include the core rulebook as well as other elements of game play for Savage Worlds like Bennies, Action Deck, Templates, Game Master Screen with adventure, Powers Cards, and more. Kickstarter coming this month, with a release in late 2021.

6. Rivers of London (Chaosium)
At #7 on this list last year, Rivers of London has claimed one place for 2021! Based on the novels by Ben Aaronovitch, and powered by a customized version of the Basic Roleplaying System, the Rivers of London series follows an ordinary constable turned magician’s apprentice, as he solves crimes across London in a sensational blend of inventive urban fantasy, gripping mystery thriller, and hilarious fantasy caper.

5. Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition (A5E) (EN Publishing)
Ready to level up your 5th Edition game? Welcome to Level Up, the standalone 'advanced 5E' backwards compatible tabletop RPG coming in 2021! A crunchier, more flexible version of the 5E ruleset which you know and love. If you love 5E but would like a little more depth to the ruleset, Level Up is the game for you!

4. King Arthur Pendragon 6th Edition (Chaosium)
Pendragon was Greg Stafford's masterpiece, and this 6th edition has been a decade in the making. "Pendragon veterans will find that the fundamentals of the game remain the same, with subtle modifications reflecting the culmination of nearly three decades’ refinement of Greg’s vision of Arthurian fantasy." You can can download a free adventure and preview at the link. This is Chaosium's second entry in this year's list.

3. The One Ring 2nd Edition (Free League)
Taking over the franchise from Cubicle 7, Free League will be updating both The One Ring and Adventures in Middle Earth, as well as producing Moria: The Long Dark. This is second edition and continuation of the game published by Cubicle 7, combined with the open-world elements found in their Forbidden Lands roleplaying game.

And now, for the first time ever, we have a joint winner! The following two games got exactly the same number of votes - which, with thousands of votes being cast, is as improbable as it is true! Congratulations to them both on being 2021's most anticipated tabletop RPG. Even if one of them is on the list for the third year in a row!

1 (joint). Dune Adventures in The Imperium (Modiphius Entertainment)
Last year's winner, and the third year running it has appeared in the Top 10, Dune: Adventures in the Imperium is 2021's joint most anticipated tabletop RPG!

The Dune: Adventures in the Imperium roleplaying game takes you into a far future where fear is the mind killer so be sure to keep your wits about you. The Imperium is a place of deadly duels, feudal politics and mysterious abilities in a universe where a blade can change the fortunes of millions. Build your House, carve your place in the universe or rebuild an ancient lineage and fight for the Imperial throne.

1 (joint). Twilight 2000 (Free League)
The top two entries in this list were neck and neck. Free League's second entry on the list the year gets the joint top spot as the coming year's most anticipated tabletop roleplaying game! Another few minutes of voting, and who knows what would have happened? But as it is, both got the same number of votes.

Just like the original game, the new edition of Twilight: 2000 is set in a Poland devastated by war, but the game also offers an alternative Swedish setting, as well as tools for placing the game anywhere in the world.

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Congratulations to everybody! Especially to Chaosium and Free League, who both managed to get two games into the top 10 this year.

PREVIOUS WINNERS OF THE ANNUAL EN WORLD MOST ANTICIPATED TABLETOP RPG OF THE YEAR

#	2013	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
1	13th Age	Star Wars Force & Destiny	Rifts for Savage Worlds	Trudvang Chronicles	Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition	Savage Worlds Adventure Edition	Dune: Adventures in the Imperium
2	Numenera	Deluxe Exalted 3rd Edition	Mutant Crawl Classics	Tales from the Loop	Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Fourth Edition	Pathfinder 2nd Edition	Vaesen - Nordic Horror Roleplaying
3	Star Wars Edge of the Empire	Unified Rolemaster	7th Sea 2nd Edition	Kult: Divinity Lost	Kult: Divinity Lost	Lex Arcana	Cyberpunk Red
4	Shadowrun 5th Edition	Conan Adventures In An Age Undreamed Of	Conan Adventures In An Age Undreamed Of	Star Trek Adventures	Forbidden Lands: Retro Open-World Survival Fantasy RPG	The Expanse	Fallout: Wasteland Warfare
5	Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition	Deluxe Tunnels & Trolls	DCC Lankhmar	Conan: Adventures in an Age Undreamed Of	RuneQuest: Role-playing in Glorantha	Eclipse Phase 2nd Edition	Warhammer: Age of Sigmar
6	Firefly	Barbarians of Lemuria: Mythic Edition	RuneQuest 4	Starfinder	The Witcher Roleplaying Game	Dune RPG	Swords of the Serpentine
7	Fate Core	Feng Shui 2	Torg: Eternity	The Witcher Roleplaying Game	Warhammer 40,000 Wrath & Glory	John Carter of Mars	Rivers of London
8	Hillfolk	Fantasy AGE	Blue Rose AGE	Coriolis	The Expanse	Changeling the Lost 2nd Edition	Stargate Roleplaying Game
9	Torchbearer	Paranoia	Paranoia	Delta Green Roleplaying Game	Legend of the Five Rings 5th Edition	Things from the Flood	Fading Suns 4th Edition
10	-	Shadows of the Demon Lord	Delta Green	Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea 2E	Numenera 2: Discovery & Destiny	Judge Dredd & The Worlds of 2000AD	Cortex Prime

 

[Ulfgeir]

Was the number of nominees and votes comparable to previous years? And has there ever been an entry that did not get any votes?

 

[Eyes of Nine]

And has there ever been an entry that did not get any votes?

It would be interesting for a game to be nominated, but the person who nominated didn't vote for it...

 

[Hurin70]

Nope, sorry. Like with the podcasts poll I don’t feel comfortable sharing negative or discouraging stuff for no discernible benefit. Let’s just congratulate the top 10 on doing so well and assume everybody else is in 11th place by a whisker.

Ok, it's your website, and you call the shots. For the record though, I was not trying to discourage anyone; I was just wanting to see some lesser known games (like my own favorite, Rolemaster) get a shout out.

 

[Ulfgeir]

It would be interesting for a game to be nominated, but the person who nominated didn't vote for it...

Exactly. I do not expect it to have happened though.

 

[Mistwell]

Would love to see a top 25?

 

[Stacie GmrGrl]

Only one of my votes made the list, which is Werewolf. I am surprised Worlds Without Number didn't make it considering how huge the Kickstarter was and it's looking to be his biggest selling game to date (and it's fully compatible with Stars Without Number).

 

[Stacie GmrGrl]

Or like we say "Savage Pathfinder".

This just has a nicer, more Savage ring to it.

 

[opacitizen]

Ok so. DriveThruRPG is American. Nightfall Games is Scottish. NFG added the SLA 2nd Ed PDF to DT at 00:01 GMT on the 1st Jan 2021. America is something like 6hrs behind GMT. Therefore 00:01 GMT has registered on the American site as 31st Dec.

we deliberately held release to Jan 1st because of SLAs nomination on this contest, so I am fully, 100% aware of when the product was released.

hope that helps?

Yes, it does, thanks, especially the bit where you explain that you held back the release, and that this contest had, in fact, a release date restriction.

See, I'm also from Europe. In fact, I'm an hour ahead of Scotland. I simply thought the makers of this list/contest weren't aware of SLA2 having been released. I also thought the producers of SLA2 weren't aware of this contest. (Don't ask me why I thought that possible. I was probably damn tired or something. I still am.) Finally, as I've said, I didn't even consider a late December release date could somehow disqualify a game. I simply thought it a strange and happy coincidence that a long-awaited game on this list got released just a few days prior to the publication of this list, and is already available.

It's never been my intent to work against SLA2. I'm glad it's been released, and I'm rather glad it's on this list now.

That's why I didn't understand why you said "Nice try!", and why I didn't understand why my initial comment seemed... I don't know... antagonistic?

So: sorry about the misunderstanding, congrats, and good luck with your release!

 

[Dungeonosophy]

I added Lords of the Middle Sea and TOR/Middle-earth 2E to:

The world's most complete directory of tabletop RPG depictions of fictive worlds which originated in other media​

 

[Stormonu]

Savage Pathfinder? Who put chocolate in my peanut butter?!? I was not aware of this, but I now want it.

And Free League to do Twilight 2000?!? More chocolate in my peanut butter! Although, 2E Twilight 2000 has long been the game I've wanted to play (ever since I saw the library RPG group playing it), but could never get anyone to try it.